Bitter Sweet Memories
by Inebriated Caffeine Imbiber
Summary: Raven has returned to Tai after all these years but the past has an awful habit of catching up to her. She predicts what he will do, and feels dread about it coming true. When he doesn't scream at her, instead choosing to embrace her, all she could do was feel hopeful.


Taiyang heard that painfully familiar sound. He glanced up and saw a raven that he could not mistake for any other. The emotions that flooded his system were an explosive cocktail. As the bird made motions to land, he breathed out in frustration, hope and anger.

The raven landed on the ground and looked at him. They stared at each other for a minute, neither making a move. After that dreadful minute, the raven transformed into his ex lover and the mother of his daughter: Raven Branwen.

His face was still holding that look of frustration as he stared at her, taut as a bowstring. But there was something up with Raven, something that made him slightly worried.

She refused to look into his eyes, her shoulders slumped in defeat and hopelessness. Her right hand reached for her left side, which made him even more tense. 'Has she come to kill me? Why?'

But when that hand rested on her left forearm, he relaxed a bit. He took a breath and walked forward, only stopping within a few arm lengths of her. He could see that she was as beautiful as she was when she left him. But this was a different woman altogether. While the Raven from the past always had her shoulders set straight and her chin high, this one slumped and refused to look at him. "Raven?"

She flinched visibly as her name cracked that awful silence. "Raven, what's wrong?"

A sob escaped from her lips as she dashed into his arms. By instinct, he wrapped them around her and brought her close. She began to cry into his chest as he brought them down to the ground. He gripped her tightly as she fell into his lap and continued to cry.

'What happened to her? In all my years, I have never seen her like this.' He peered down at the woman whose shoulders were quaking. He could feel the maelstrom of emotions that escaped from her sobs: Fear, anger, pity, remorse and hopelessness.

"Raven?" She flinched again. He softly rested a hand on the small of her back and began to draw slow circles around that area, his touch as light as a feather. He was furious with her, that was true. But he could not bring himself to be angry at her when she was in such a state.

They stayed like this for nearly an hour until her sobs had quietened. "Raven… Please look at me." She complied to his request and brought her red eyes filled with tears up to meet his blue ones. He was taken aback about how different her eyes looked.

"Raven, what's wrong?" She shook her head, the headpiece swishing from the movement, and buried her face into his chest again. He moved his hand up and began to draw slow circles at the top of her back. The effect was noticeable as her sobs ceased.

It was her that broke that silence. "Tai… I-I-I!" Her words were caught in her throat. She peered up at him with puffy eyes, the spark in them extinguished. "I am so sorry… For everything I have done. I am so sorry for leaving you and Yang, leaving us. I am so sorry that I wasn't there when you needed me. But Tai please understand I-I-I." She choked again and went back to sobbing.

Tai looked down at her. A million things went threw his head, but only one shined through. He held her tightly and murmured into her ear, "I am so glad that you're alive."

This shocked her and she felt her heart lightened. This man, she left him for her own reasons, and he still cared for her. She had left him just after the baby was born, leaving him to look after Yang by himself and Summer. She left him when he was so deeply in love with her… And he said those words. 'He still cares about me, even after all I have done to him.'

She peered up at him again. "T-Tai I know what I-I did was ho-orrible. B-but please believe me when I say I regret leaving you! I was so scared, what with birthing Yang and not knowing what to do with my own life and feeling hopeless about Salem and everything and missing my home and tribe I just wanted to get away from it Tai!" She said all that in one breath.

He wiped the tears from her face. "Raven. I won't lie and say you didn't hurt me… But the main thing is that you've come back. I hoped beyond hope that you would return, and you did. I can see that you're distraught beyond belief, so let's have this talk at a later time ok?"

He was honestly surprised with himself at how well he was taking this. He'd expect to scream and yell at her, but that would only make it worse and possibly make her run away again. He gave her a small smile as she sunk her face into his chest again and fell asleep, completely drained from the past few hours.

He lifted her up and carried her to one of the beds and laid her upon it. He felt her head and went to get a cool cloth to place on her forehead. He returned with the rag and a large jug of water and a glass before placing the cloth on her head and the other two items on the nightstand. He removed her headpiece and her sword as well as her boots and arm guards, but he did not touch the rest of her clothing.

He sat in a chair and watched her sleep. By the Two Brothers she was still beautiful. He felt his heart strings pluck at the sight of her resting somewhat peacefully. Until he started to think about the present.

She had returned, that was true. But that didn't excuse what she did. However she did express remorse in a way that he couldn't doubt her. 'What the hell happened?' He crossed his legs and shut his eyes for a moment.

It was the movement that got his attention. He peered up and saw this deadly beauty staring back at him. "Raven… We will need to talk about this."

She nodded in a meek fashion before sitting up and swinging her legs to the side of the bed. "Raven, what happened?"

She went on to explain the last 24 hours. He stiffened when she got to the point about banding together with Salem's lapdog but he calmed down, this was her retribution, her chance to make things right.

He softened when he heard that Yang and Ruby were alright and Qrow was looking after them. When she stopped she stared at her hands, he could only imagine what she saw on them.

He took a deep breath and brought her chin up so she could look at him. Those eyes, still beautiful and deadly, but dimmed. "Raven, it will take me awhile to forgive you for what you have done to me, to my children and to us as a family. But, please believe me when I say that I don't harbour any hostile emotions towards you. My biggest relief is that you're alive, and alright." She nodded and he gestured for her to come closer.

She curled up into his lap and rested her head on his chest. Her breathing had become normal and her spasms had calmed down. He reached down for her hands and rubbed them with his own. "Do you still see blood on these?" She nodded.

He began to kiss them and her hand, being careful and slow. Once he finished with one hand, he went to the other, taking as much time as he could. Once he had finished, he looked down at her and kissed her forehead. "Is the blood gone?" She nodded.

"Tai, I missed you so much." Her voice was but a whisper, but he heard it. He drew her closer in and immersed himself with her. Her skin was still soft and tender, her scent was that of tea leaves, lilacs and cherry blossoms. It brought back the memories they had together, the fun nights they had in bed and out in the forest.

Raven immersed herself with him. He was still fit and she felt the power radiate from his arms and core. His scent was that of maple, vanilla and strawberries. This brought back her own memories of team STRQ, and their first night of passion together that brought Yang into this world. She relished into his touch and scent, as if letting go would mean that she would falter again.

She moved so she straddled him and stared into the ocean blue that was his eyes. Red met blue, and both sides softened. They were acting like first lovers again as Raven moved in, still unsure. Tai gave her the smallest smile and wrapped his arms around her. She took this as a positive and kissed him slowly.

It wasn't a kiss of passion, but a kiss of comfort. The last time she felt safe and secure was when she was with him before she left. She drew more from the kiss, bringing herself up over him. They broke apart with gasps of air, still staring into each other's eyes.

Raven tapped her finger on the exposed part of his chest and he massaged the stiff muscles in her back. She mewled in pain and pleasure. "P-please Tai… Can I stay with you tonight?"

He was taken aback at the question but he recovered, nodding and burying his face into her chest, wanting to hear her heartbeat. Just so he knew that this wasn't a sick dream, that she was indeed real.

She rubbed the top of his head as he drank her presence in, coming to grips that this was really happening. He sniffled and tears started to fall down his cheeks. But these were tears of relief and contentment, and not of sadness and loneliness.

She felt her heart surge with love and adoration for this man. She was puzzled at what these emotions were for she hadn't felt them in a long time. But when she identified them, she could only smile softly and kissed the top of his head.

"Tai." She spoke that word as softly as she could.

"Raven." He whispered back.

"I'm going to try my hardest to set things straight? Ok?"

He nodded and kissed her stomach. She tingled at the treatment and her breath hitched. "I'm going to try, ok?"

He looked up at his long lost lover again. She could only look at him as she lowered her mouth to his. This kiss introduced passion as well as love and adoration, she put everything she felt into this kiss with her one and only lover.

Lover… Could they truly ever go back to what they were before? Ever?

The sun had began to set on the two of them. They looked at each other, each coming to a wordless agreement. She got off of him and took his hand, leading them down to the kitchen.

They made a light dinner. He steeped some tea leaves. They breathed a sigh of contentment as they finished their dinner and began to nurse their cups. This was far better than what she had gotten used to at the bandit camp.

Tai was puzzled. He had missed her beyond words and now she was back, with no demands and only the drive to set things straight. He couldn't help but slip back into what they were before she left, and he decided it was for the better. They wouldn't get intimate beyond the rare kisses, but they would have each other.

Once they had cleaned up the dishes and turned off the lights, Raven led him back to his bedroom, a light smile gracing her face the whole way. She stopped him at the front of the door and walked in, feeling the bedsheets and remembering exactly where everything was.

She looked over at him and began to undress. She undid the cloth belt that held her kimono onto her curvaceous body and opened the garment. He was greeted with a black bra and her milky white skin. She smiled as she saw the effect she had on him before turning around.

She unclipped the pant legs from her skirt and took them off, folding them neatly onto the floor. Finished with those, she unzipped her skirt and pulled it down her thighs. He couldn't help but keep his eyes glued onto her body.

She was blushing throughout the whole ordeal. It was like their first night again. She finally shook the kimono off and felt excited as she heard the fabric hit the floor

She was there, stark naked in her underwear. She consciously covered herself and shivered as the cold wind crept in through the window. She beckoned Tai forward.

He was more than happy to hold her against his body. There was no lust in their actions, only passion that was born from the spark they had a long time ago. Her milky white skin contrasted magnificently with her black underwear, her red eyes peering up into his as they searched for answers.

He began to unbutton his shirt and threw it away. Having dealt with that, she helped him unbuckle his pants and dropped them to the floor. They were both in their underwear, the sensation of being so close to each other driving them into breathlessness.

She felt up his chest as he felt up her back. They stared at each other for the longest time before Raven began to pull him onto the bed.

They collapsed onto the bed, Tai on top of her. He held himself up by his elbows and she was more than happy to run her hands over his body, wanting to drink in his presence. She grinned before flipping them over, straddling him with her hips.

His hands began to roam over her body slowly. They never touched her private area as this was more of a chance to confirm that their eyesight was not playing tricks on them. His hands slid up her thighs and danced across her stomach before curving around her breasts. This set her excitement on fire as she could only breath in short gasps.

She grabbed his face and mashed their lips together, wrapping her arms around his head as he wrapped his around her back. They kissed with passion that could only come from years of loneliness and hopelessness. The kiss reconnected them on a level that they missed desperately, and were all the more happy when it returned.

"T-Tai. I know you don't want to become intimate with me. But please believe me when I say that I won't run away." Her voice vibrated through her body as he placed his ear on her stomach.

"I know, I just want to spend a night with you that is unlike any other. Do you feel the same?"

She could only nod before she pecked his lips again. She stretched, showing off her body to him before draping herself over him.

His hands wrapped around her torso as he laid back onto the bed. The two embraced each other, keeping their lover warm.

"Tai?"

"Yes Raven?"

"I will be here tomorrow, I won't leave you."

"I know Raven, I know."

The last thing he saw before sleep caught him, was her eyes. They were no longer dim.

They sparkled in the moonlight.

The sun rose up, it's rays piercing Raven's eyelids and forcing herself to wake up. She opened her eyes and stretched and yawned softly. She giggled quietly as he began to say words in his sleep, specifically about a bet to drink Qrow under a table.

She kissed him again and listened to his heartbeat until he woke up.

He looked up and saw this ravenette beauty being hit by the golden rays of the sun, bouncing off her and making her appear angelic. His breath hitched as he marvelled at how beautiful she truly was.

She noticed he was staring and looked down, a light blush coming to her cheeks. "Tai, please. You're staring at me."

"I only stare because I want this image, this moment, to be burned into my memory forever."

She looked at him in surprise and then contentment before kissing him again. She poked his nose and giggled.

"See? I told you I would still be here."

"Will you be here the next morning?"

"And the next one, and the next one and the next one. Until time stops Tai. I promise."


End file.
